Paper Mountains
by cloud-in-a-bottle
Summary: Itachi and Kisame don't know what they're in for when a stranger approaches them with a deal. OC Sagami Raasu quickly finds herself questioning her country's motives while getting involved with people she never wanted to know. ItachixRaasu
1. Playing the long game

Paper Mountains

Chapter 1: Playing the long game

* * *

 _Damn_ , Raasu cursed for the fourth time, when the scroll she tracked down was _still_ _not_ what she was looking for. Had anyone asked for her opinion, she would have said that a total lack of organization was _not_ what she had envisioned to be her biggest challenge during her mission to infiltrate the massive, five-tiered records library located in the Kage tower of the world's largest shinobi city.

Though she had to admit, she _liked_ Konoha's scroll-house. Despite its flaws, it was clean and its maintenance was well intentioned if not totally overwhelmed. It was arranged on many floors of their Kage tower, each floor more advanced, or more confidential, than the floor below. The top floor of the building was, of course, the Hokage's office. Rows were almost her height, with shelves of a latticework of wooden slats that were as pretty as they were functional.

Kusagakure's library had been dark in comparison, but her job in Kusa was made easier by the fact that _their_ librarians only ever categorized by year – but that was why _that_ mission had taken her a _week_ , in and out.

Konoha had been her temporary home for a month, and with no small amount of luck, today would be her last day in the Hokage tower – _ever_ , if she had anything to say about it.

A little over a month ago, she had slipped into Konoha with her country's genin under the guise of advising them during their participation in the Chuunin Examinations. It was an amusing distraction when she wasn't busy with her own mission. Having never taken a Chuunin Exam in her life, she happily obliged when asked to serve as a decoy during the written test of round one.

Once inside the city, the distraction of the exams was the perfect cover for her to gain access to the library. She'd made good use of her "borrowed" ANBU standard issue that was provided to her at the start of this mission – ANBU had the highest clearance, after all, and the anonymity that was necessary for Konoha's highest brand of shinobi awarded Sagami the privacy she relied on.

Though their genin team had failed the exam's round two, Takigakure's representatives were, as a courtesy, welcome to stay and watch the one-on-one battles between finalists. Over the month's interim in which combatants trained privately and guests enjoyed themselves in the large city, Sagami had worked her slow pace through the upper floors of the city's library. Mission records, peace treaties, and meeting transcripts were among the bounty concealed in her travel-pack back in the compound reserved for Konoha's guests.

* * *

She wanted to represent her country at the 3rd Hokage's funeral happening this very hour, but knew she would hate the pomp and circumstance and all the petty praise Konoha would bestow on their fallen Kage. Thus it was with mixed feelings that she had once again donned the ANBU standard issue and slipped into the private, humidity-regulated highest-security floor of Konoha's record house. For the second time in three days she was closer to the Hokage's office than she'd ever been. Compared to the lower floors, _this_ floor had low ceilings and thick, tinted windows for security and to preserve old, irreplaceable originals. She could feel the heat of the anti-teleportation jutsu circling the structure.

Well, it _had_ had thick, tinted windows before her own handiwork shattered the North-facing window two short days ago, when Sand and Sound invaded the city and she'd been forced to make a quick retreat.

When all available eyes were trained on the finals in the far-off stadium, Sagami had donned her ANBU uniform and slipped into the top floor. She had planned carefully for her invasion into the privacy of that floor: it was, after all, the _highest risk_ target of her mission. Likely due to very low traffic, it was mercifully better organized, so it had been a simple task on that day to locate the Kage Summit transcripts and complete her collection of _that_ subject before she renewed her methodical hunt for a missing third in a set of _particular_ interest to her colleagues.

The violent shaking of the building beneath her feet, accompanied by a distant crash and pillars of thick smoke pouring up and over the high walls of the stadium threw her on alert. Movement just left of the stadium had drawn her eye and she had watched, open-mouthed, as a sizable portion of the great city wall toppled inward.

Observing the first moments of the invasion of Konoha from the height of the Kage tower, she had made the only sensible choice: follow through with her mission _._ Get her stolen scrolls out of the city and see them safely to Takigakure, if necessary.

After abandoning her search of the most elusive scroll in favor of protecting the bounty she already had stowed in her team's room, she shattered the window with a burst of chakra and leapt through the anti-teleportation ward. Long before she hit the ground far, far below, she had performed a string of seals and closed her eyes as her teleportation justu melted her into water and taken her outside the city where she waited, restless and pacing, for the clamor of the invasion to die down.

The following morning, when Sagami had strolled through the front gates of Konoha without a whisper of a guard's presence, the damage done to the great city was apparent. Taki and most of the other visiting countries stayed to lend their meager support, but rebuilding would take months. The least anyone could do was attend the 3rd Hokage's funeral.

"You're playing the long game," Taki's team leader reminded her the morning of, as if she needed a reminder of what her country expected from her.

What if I don't find this scroll at all? She wondered, but didn't ask. Instead: "it's my personal opinion that the scroll we search for was destroyed for Konoha's protection." He'd pursed his lips and said nothing. Her team leader was a severe man. She drew the mask down over her face and hoped it unnerved him if only just a little, and left.

* * *

In current time, she ran a gloved hand over the curve of the nearest scroll. What secrets, what forgotten knowledge, was hidden in the room in which she stood? She wiped a hand down her face under the mask, mentally preparing herself for the next task, when a bundle of white feathers careened into the room, talons outstretched towards her face.

At the last second she snapped out an arm for Shiro to land on. He chattered away angrily. She listened for a moment before scowling beneath the hood and mask. Out of time: _they're here_.

She tipped her head back to stare for a second at the ceiling and to imagine the Hokage desk above. Forcing a deep breath in and out to calm her nerves, she then touched Shiro lightly and inclined her head in his direction.

With her summon's teleportation, they landed in the apartment with a thud. Sighing, she straightened, turning for her pack, when movement caught her eye.

"What the _hell_ are you doing here?" Raasu barked at the genin, who was backing into the bathroom with a kunai held defensively. Raasu ripped off her mask so the girl could see she was no threat. The genin were _all_ supposed to be at the ceremony, _why_ was she here?

"He said to come here and wait for you," the girl stared at her ANBU mask fearfully, not understanding why Sagami would be dressed like a Leaf ninja. "Why weren't you at the ceremony, Sagami-senpai?"

"No time for that," she barked. "What is it?"

"Sensei said to wait for you, tell you, 'they're here.' Said you'd know what it means." Her gaze flicked to Shiro, now perched on Raasu's shoulder.

She nodded. "I know. I won't be returning to Waterfall with you. Sorry I don't have more time. Train hard."

Shiro twisted his head around this way and that, telling her to _hurry up_. Raasu cast an apologetic glance at the only female genin on the team and swung her travel pack onto her shoulders. A second later, both owl and human popped out of existence, leaving only a thin splash of moisture in their wake.

* * *

A/N: I know, I know, that's a lot of non-dialogue paragraph text up there. I wouldn't want to read it either, but I have to set the stage.

In this fiction I will be using the comic book style of a lot of _italics_ to indicate strong _emphasis_ on certain words. It eases the flow and makes reading more natural, _imho_.

As you may have gathered, this is not a 'Konoha-is-best' protagonist. Shinobi raised in different nations will have different perspectives on worldly events, and I intend to fully exploit this fact.


	2. Playing the long game, pt 2

Paper Mountains

Chapter 2: Playing the long game, pt 2

* * *

Itachi and Kisame were irritated by the unwelcome chatter of someone else's summon, but didn't have to wait long before the annoying white owl returned with his master. Raasu appeared before them in a flash, shaking water everywhere as she winked into existence in front of them.

Itachi instantly recognized her attire as Konoha ANBU and palmed a weapon in preparation, but the kunoichi straightened up, removed her mask, and shook out her hood to let it fall to her shoulders, looking very much at ease with her situation. Not ANBU, then. He looked her up and down from under the brim of his wide bamboo sugegasa, taking in the short, straight hair matted against her forehead.

Kisame, to Itachi's left, surveyed her face. Her blue hair was much lighter than his and was a sweat-matted tangle not quite reaching the nape of her neck. Blue eyes were pointedly staring at him, clear and determined, mouth a stiff line - the very portrait of calm impassivity. It was anyone's guess to which part of the world she originated: her hair was the only truly defining feature.

Raasu fixed the pair with a stony deadpan, taking great care to appear at once unthreatening and confident, though inside her nerves burned with anxiety. Months of preparation had taken her through this exact moment, but Akatsuki were not to be taken lightly. There they were, in flesh and blood and murderous infamy. But she was ready.

She blinked away and gave them both a small bow of respect. "Akatsuki," A statement, not a question. "I carry a message to your leader from my home village of Takigakure." Raasu spoke to the taller of the pair because his partner's face was obscured by his sugegasa. Hoshigaki Kisame, she remembered, looking into his off-color face and shock of dark blue hair. Formerly of Mist, confirmed by the symbol on his hitae-ate. Instead of wearing his sugegasa, he held it carefully at his side. His other hand held the strap of the largest sheath she'd ever seen.

Kisame must have felt her gaze on the great-sword, because he took a moment to reach up and grasp its hilt before saying, "by all means, tell us what the village hidden behind a waterfall should want from the Akatsuki." It sounded like he was mocking her, but Raasu couldn't be sure. _Don't think about who they are_ , she reprimanded herself. _Focus only on your purpose._

She steeled herself. "You should know that I am tasked with presenting to your leader _in person_ or not at all." Neither black-cloaked person replied, prompting her to wonder if she'd already said the thing that would get her killed. She fought panic and forced her body to stay still, though her hand itched for the comfort of a familiar weapon hilt.

Then her eyes were drawn to the movement of the Hoshigaki's partner lifting the brim of his sugegasa by a thumb, and she found herself facing a pair of sharingan. Raasu had never seen a sharingan in person. She found herself thinking foremost that they were so very _red_. They were the kind of red that had not a trace of any other color: the _purest_ red. Her eyes flicked from one inky black tomoe to another, watching him watch her. They were very faintly _spinning_ , making the effect of tracing them dizzying. From somewhere to the side Kisame opened his mouth in a toothy grin, which was when Raasu realized that the moment had stretched almost to bursting and the sharingan, _large_ in her field of view, were much closer to her than she thought.

So she almost - _almost_ \- twitched when the former Konoha-nin Uchiha Itachi spoke from a distance of two paces, when she'd been standing more than five paces away. None-the-less her shoulders tensed and she sucked in a breath as she came back to herself and her surroundings. When had he moved? "Convey to us your village's purpose in sending you," was what he said. He spoke clearly and without inflection, though the intensity of his stare spoke volumes.

Kisame too was peering at her expectantly from a more respectable distance, and by his light touch the great-sword swayed a little against his shoulder. The both of them were waiting for her to speak, and she contemplated the tension for a moment – the men like coiled springs, ready to strike at any false movement, any wrong answer. it was like watching a cat poised and ready to strike at any movement of a cornered mouse, only it was a different sort of sensation to realize that in this situation she _was_ the mouse.

 _Do not show them fear_ were among the orders that flitted, unbidden, through her mind. She kept her composure and raised her eyes once more to the sharingan's gaze – foolish, maybe downright _reckless_ , but Raasu had no choice. The danger of her mission was clear, and she had accepted despite the risks. Again, her shishou's voice ran across her head: _the only way for them to respect you is to_ command _respect._ "I have my orders, Uchiha-san, as I'm sure you have yours," her voice rang out.

Itachi didn't like repeating himself, so he hesitated before doing so and then decided against it. "You must not misunderstand. You are asking a great deal of us while giving nothing of yourself. Before we consider presenting you to our leader, you must explain to us why we should keep you alive to do so." The emphasis he ground into the latter phrase confirmed that he was not a man to be trifled with.

Raasu considered his words and her reply carefully, but found herself preoccupied with trying to maintain even eye contact. She tightened her grip on the white mask involuntarily as she felt it slipping across her sweaty palm. Then preparation kicked in to mercifully override her fear, and she took a breath.

"Konoha and the other four large shinobi nations have abused their greater power for far too long, and Taki is not the only shinobi nation to believe so. I have just come from Konoha's own confidential scroll-house in their Kage tower, where I have acquired quite a bit of intelligence on their mechanisms in the second and third shinobi wars," she explained dully and without pause. "My own hidden village knows that Akatsuki wishes to overthrow Konoha, and we have drawn up a truce agreement, which I am tasked with presenting to your leader." She searched the two shinobi's faces for a reaction and was disappointed to find none. "This truce is tied to my life-force." She tried to dedicate her very best stern look to the still-too-close Itachi in response to his threat on her life.

"I don't need to know where your base is," Raasu concluded carefully. "We could teleport in and out at your direction."

"No," Itachi all but interrupted, "we can't." He had listened with rapt interest. Assuming her truthfulness, Pein _would_ want to hear her.

"Not possible," Kisame filled in, "to teleport." He looked to Itachi. Shared understanding passed between the partners via eye contact. Both nodded.

"We're traveling north," Kisame told her gruffly. "Don't slow us down."

Without even a spare glance, the Uchiha turned and walked away, signaling the end of the conversation. Raasu hoped her relief at no longer being the subject of his unnerving red gaze wasn't visible.

Kisame tilted his head towards the stiff-standing kunoichi in a look that said, "we won't wait for you". He meant for her to travel _between_ the pair – _Akatsuki_ , Raasu reminded herself. In typical shinobi fashion, she nodded her consent.

Then she sidestepped Kisame's menacing person and forced herself to walk after the Uchiha, resolved to stay on high alert. _Playing the long game_ , she thought.

Kisame smirked at her back; Raasu's automatic robotic movements conjured images of a certain stiff and proper young Uchiha.

* * *

A/N: Thank you for follows!

Indysicive: thank you for feedback! Raasu has left the genin for now, but they may have a cameo down the road.. I'm glad you like it so far, and thank you for reading!


	3. No illusions

Paper Mountains

Chapter 3: no illusions

* * *

Skipping ahead of Kisame, Raasu shook her head to clear out the unease that still plagued her. First contact with Akatsuki went smoothly – _exactly_ as smoothly as it could have. She revealed more than she wanted, but better _that_ than be disposed of and fail her mission. For now, she expected distrust and distance. She could handle that. She _was_ prepared, she mentally affirmed.

"Why the rush?" She asked Itachi's disappearing back, more to herself – the Uchiha was well out of earshot. "Are you running from something specific? Did Konoha…?"

"Konoha doesn't welcome us," Kisame was suddenly beside her, baring his teeth.

She glanced over. "Were you followed when you left the city?"

"That mess of a city doesn't have the manpower to stalk us with a full team right now. Still," he paused in the Uchiha's direction, "they can't afford _not_ to track us."

Raasu nodded. "Because of him." _F_ _amily_ _annihilator_. _Perpetrator of the most horrific massacre in recent history_. She forced the disgust from her mind. Not relevant to mission, she chided.

Kisame nodded back. " _Someone_ from there is after us right now. I guarantee it." He looked up. "We should take to the trees."

"I'm faster on the ground," she grunted, taking off in the Uchiha's direction as if to prove it. Kisame sprinted and caught her easily, feet tap-tapping in the trees above.

"Faster on the _ground_ , eh?" The tall man shouted down. " _Slower_ on the ground, you mean. Slower than we were planning to travel." He was implying something, there, with his sidelong glance and trailed off sentence. Raasu didn't answer – to reply was to acknowledge her shortcomings.

"Tch," Kisame chided at her elected silence. He bounded ahead to where his partner had taken the early lead.

"She's weak," Kisame kept his voice down. "She can't travel in the trees, Itachi-san."

Itachi didn't look back. Fire country was unique in that its forests were largely dominated by thick-limbed _Sou –_ layered trees, wherein the gap between their upper and lower sets of branches was typically tall enough for a man to stand comfortably. They were actually somewhat of a novelty in the tree world, existing only in the heart of Fire, with a smattering along the nearest of Water country islands. The majority of the shinobi world's forests were unsuitable for such travel, and while most shinobi travelled through Fire frequently, perhaps this kunoichi had not. "Not all shinobi have the opportunity to travel far from their homeland. It's of no consequence."

"Why would Waterfall send a kunoichi who's never travelled this way to Fire?" Kisame shrugged. "For her sake, I hope she can keep up."

"Hm," was all he got in response.

"Hey, kunoichi-san," Kisame started out when he fell back in step with Raasu, "I'm warning you right now, we have a lot of ground to cover. We're already slowing down because of you."

"I'm fast," she asserted, testily to keep her voice from shaking.

"You'd better _stay_ fast," he pressed further. "Don't make us regret it."

"I'll alternate sprints and jogs," she nodded agreeably.

"You'd _better_ sprint," he repeated, just to get in the last word. Raasu let out a breath and bemoaned her body for the abuse it was about to take.

* * *

The further they travelled, the thicker the woods became.

Raasu guessed they were heading north, northwest, generally away from Konoha while avoiding towns, roads, footpaths, and the like. Northwest Fire country was an expanse of rocky, hilly terrain that would only get rockier and hillier until eventually giving way to the ring of post-volcanic mountains giving Fire country its name. Long dormant, the mountain range was a natural boundary between Fire and its northwestern neighbors.

Raasu was still in her ANBU disguise - the mask was hot around her face, but she welcomed the anonymity. And anyway, she hadn't had time to change. Uncomfortable as she was with the constant strain of physical motion, she was pleased by Kisame's tiny admission that the pair consented to slowing to her pace. It meant that even the two black-cloaked missing nin had to admit that letting her follow through with her diplomacy to their organization was beneficial. In short, her mission status was favorable.

She smirked beneath her porcelain mask. At present, she was following Kisame's lead, while Itachi was trailing the both of them from her blind spot. Raasu turned to visually affirm his location.

He was a blur of black and red that didn't catch her eye, but she knew he was still observing her. Had been for a while. Her hackles were as far up as they would go, with the clan killer at her back. Slowly, she turned forwards and watched Kisame's boots, a blur from branch to branch.

Still feeling the Uchiha's eyes on her, she resolved not to look back. Under her belt were countless drills, rehearsals, and staring contests with her sensei _specifically_ in an attempt to prepare her for Uchiha Itachi's sharingan. They were designed around getting her body trained to a specific reaction. Staring contests had seemed like a trivial, ineffective way to prepare – even comical at the time, but the sharingan were truly nothing like she could have imagined. She was glad for the practice holding an even gaze.

"Can I help you with something, Uchiha-san?" Raasu called out dryly, continuing with her jog. Bravery must be asserted to be learned.

"You're getting slower," he commented back, more curious than irritated. Itachi was well used to traveling through the lower branches of the _Sou_ , making good use of his chakra as he propelled himself from branch to branch using very little energy. He honestly had not expected this kunoichi diplomat to last as long as she had. But, he supposed, all stamina ran out eventually. She just had an abnormally high store of it.

"I'm just getting in my day's exercise," she asserted, panting. Kami, speaking wasn't fun after – and _while_ – being mobile for so many hours.

Itachi tended to agree with her on that point, though it was unfortunate and foolish of her to push herself to the limit to impress her new handlers – which is what he had to assume was her goal. Rightly so, he thought, but still foolish. She'd kept her word to Kisame, alternating between 3-minute sprints and 20-minute jogs. He'd weighed the pros and cons of exhausting so much stamina carefully while observing her from above. Ever the analytical mind, Itachi measured her pace with exaction. Her blue hair had gone dark with sweat around the confines of the mask, but there was nothing in her stride to suggest fatigue. He shook his head.

Though Itachi had to admit, the real thing that kept catching his eye was the ANBU attire. He had not travelled with someone wearing such gear since before his Konoha defection. Now it was interesting how familiar it was to see the flash of her vest in the peripheral. To be vaguely reminded of his Konoha years.

His eyes sought and found Kisame up above, easily matching the kunoichi's pace in the trees. Neither missing-nin _really_ cared about slowing down – at least, only enough to make the occasional jibe. To not-so-subtly remind her that Fire was _their_ comfort zone – and not hers. Which reminded him of another little _issue_ they would have to deal with soon.

In a blur, Itachi moved to his partner. "Are we done torturing her?" Kisame asked, talking less about making the little diplomat deplete her energy unnecessarily and more about _when_ , exactly, Itachi was planning to confront the shinobi duo that he was allowing to tail them.

"Not quite," came the reply before the sharingan master pointedly poofed out of existence. Kisame followed suit, cackling to himself at his partner's dirty trick on their guest.

Raasu jerked out of her reverie when Uchiha and Hoshigaki faded from her senses. All at once, the Akatsuki duo was replaced by the chakra of an unknown duo coming up on her, and _fast_.

She looked back, startled. _Shit_ , she swore under her breath. Those Akastuki hadn't even warned her.

Thinking bitter thoughts, she leapt off the ground to run up the trunk of a large _Sou_ tree, her feet digging heavily into the bark and leaving deep grooves (the make of chakra overdraw). She didn't have time to wince at the display of her less-than-stellar mastery of chakra adhesion because she had to grit her teeth with the effort of pulsing her chakra accurately enough to maintain the climb, then kicked off the underside of a branch to spin down and meet her emerging attacker from a higher ground.

Trusting the tight leather straps across her chest to keep her pack secure, her kunai clashed with another as two ANBU-clad shinobi scraped past one another.

Itachi and Kisame, skillfully invisible, tracked the movements of the Taki shinobi and of the two pursuing her. It was a dirty trick, Kisame agreed, for Itachi to mask the enemy's chakra to prevent Raasu from sensing them. But it _was_ useful. _She_ would take care of their pursuers and _they_ would observe her skills.

They watched the back and forth parry between one authentic ANBU and one fake, back on the packed ground and locked in a fierce hand-to-hand. Kisame watched Raasu's tanto whirl and dodge through the air, never still and always quick to guard her mid-section. The taller ANBU was quick too, though.

Itachi watched how her feet moved in a flurry of tap-tap forward, tap-tap back, slide-tap as her body arched to the right to avoid her opponent's kunai. Her movements were tight but elaborate – almost flamboyant in their exaggerated strikes and deep follow-throughs. An upper-strike here swerved into a cross-block to her chest there, followed by a block-and-parry glanced off the metal back of her glove.

Raasu turned to shatter an arc of senbon blown to her by a strong wind jutsu, only to realize _too late_ it was a diversion, meant to and _succeeding_ in making her slow her footwork enough for roots to burst from the ground and wrap around her ankles. Staggering, she grunted and twisted around in a backwards swipe, but the ANBU easily dodged her ineffective jab and knocked the tanto out of her hand with the butt of his kunai, drawing a hiss.

With her right arm immobilized, her left clenched and made to slam into his shoulder blade, but the roots leapt the distance to her fist and just about wrenched her arm from its socket. There would be no escaping those roots, she realized. How foolish of her.

Her eyes opened wide when she felt the second enemy close in from behind with killing intent. Kisame looked over to where Itachi crouched, locked on the scuffle. The Mist nin took a cue from his partner and did not interfere, though he fidgeted and creased his brow.

They watched the enemy nin skewer their new companion right in the middle, but instead of blood blooming at the front of that white vest, her whole body exploded on contact, like a water balloon burst by a needle, showering the closer ANBU in an icy chill.

The moisture in the air briefly obscured Itachi's view of the aft ninja, who at that moment jerked with some unforeseen tragedy. His killer kicked at the ground and _back_ , vaulting over the now-dead man in a high straight-legged arc. The other nin had a reaction time advantage and dodged the mid-air strike Raasu took at his neck, but the chill of the icy water made him too slow to avoid the momentum-driven booted heel slammed into the back of his neck.

Raasu's hot breath coated the inside of her mask uncomfortably, so she ripped it off in a flurry of blue hair. How did they like _that_ , hm? Irritation did not _begin_ to describe her thoughts about the Akatsuki pair, but she knew better than to piss them off with her whining. "Lovely way to treat a guest of your organization," she murmured as she retrieved her tanto.

"Your chakra is low," Itachi observed, calm and even, like she hadn't just killed two men. Raasu whirled to face him. The man tipped his head to the side, "when did you switch to a bushin?"

Kisame heaved a sigh as he emerged from the foliage on the left. "Don't annoy the kunoichi with your rhetoricals, Itachi. _I_ for one am glad to finally see some fun." Raasu was relieved Kisame took away her need to reply. "Hoshigaki Kisame making your official acquaintance."

Raasu pushed the Uchiha out of her mind. She forced a smile for Kisame and shook his large hand. "Raasu."

* * *

"Takigakure chose you as their representative, so you must be among their most able shinobi. If _you_ could not match the skill of Konoha's ANBU, then Akatsuki would have no interest pursuing a contract with your village," Itachi explained when they finally stopped for the night. After putting distance between them and the fallen shinobi, they slowed their pace to a walk to find a decent place to make camp. There, Raasu had finally asked for confirmation of her suspicions that they had _led_ her into the ambush.

"It's not a contract," she corrected. "It's an _alliance_. Contract implies that we consider you to be mercenaries for hire, which is _not_ our intention." Her face softened. "My village leaders believe that we need this alliance to secure Konoha's defeat."

"And do you agree with them?"

"Waterfall is a small country," she answered. "Of course Akatsuki lends us a tactical advantage. But…" Speaking of it wasn't disloyalty, but she still averted her eyes, "I worry allying with a fringe group damages the reputation we are setting." She bobbed her head. "Still, it's not my place to contradict the wishes of my hidden village, Uchiha-san, regardless of my own impressions."

"Perhaps not," the missing-nin mused. Raasu looked back at his unreadable expression. She knew a bit about the past of the infamous Uchiha as well as quite a few rumors. What she could see of his face – red eyes, deep periorbital boundaries, top of a straight nose – appeared pretty ordinary. Sitting next to Kisame especially, his eyes appeared almost feminine, helped by his longer hair – Raasu didn't know _how_ long, hidden as it was by his high-necked collar – and soft bangs. In comparison, Kisame's features were blunt and jagged. Their bingo book images did neither man justice, particularly because the only reliable front-facing image of the Uchiha was taken seven years ago, when he was 13.

Her trance was broken when Kisame caught her looking and barked at her to "cut out the creepy staring," so she decided to dig out one of the stolen scrolls and start her investigation.

Itachi eyed her unclasping the back of her pack and had sense of what she was up to. "It is fortunate for your country, then," he started the conversation anew, "that to most of the world, Akatsuki is a mystery. Consider: this will not be the first time we have contracted with a hidden village. Most contracts are, by nature, unsavory, but such is the ninja way. Your end goal is, to you, a noble one, and as you have established, our organization shares a similar goal. Akatsuki, too, has a reputation to uphold."

Raasu stared hard. It was the longest string of words she'd heard out of the man's mouth, and without any prompting.

Kisame was not bothered. He tore off a piece of jerky with his teeth, speaking between chews. "To those who know us, our reputation is for getting things _done_. We give you credibility _and_ firepower."

Her brows knit together. "Wouldn't support from other villages lend more credibility? Maybe I presume too much about politics, but I would think it beneficial to gain support from hidden villages first."

Kisame shook his head as Itachi answered. "I believe it is a good choice to contact Akatsuki first," Itachi went on. "Including additional political entities has certain complications that it would be unwise to introduce early on. When you establish that you have the firepower necessary to succeed in your mission; _that_ is what you need to garner support from sympathetic countries. On their own, these small countries you speak of: Kusa, Ame, Téa, River, have their own political agenda. Entering into a _rebellion_ – we should use the word that is appropriate, and it is _rebellion_ we speak of – with another country is a distribution of responsibility, a _liability_ that most countries would be wary of – and rightly so, against a foe such as Konoha."

Kisame spoke up. "Basically, talking to other countries too soon would just slow you down. They hesitate too much to be useful. Akatsuki does not hesitate."

"A hidden village requires deliberation before action," Raasu realized aloud. "Tensions must be tested, political ties evaluated. _Akatsuki_ has no such reservations." She strained on the word _Akatsuki_ , knowledge of its member's criminal infamy surfacing.

Raasu looked down at her hands tightening on the scroll case in her lap. "That is partially the reason for my looking into Konoha's war crimes. We have a better chance of convincing other countries to join us if we pinpoint how Konoha has attacked each one." Itachi narrowed his eyes a fraction. There was his opening.

"I would like the opportunity to read these records you acquired." He had no doubt he would find her new scrolls _highly_ interesting. It was time to test boundaries.

She gave him a warning look. "Given the sensitive information, I prefer to evaluate them on my own, Uchiha-san."

"Daylight will be gone soon." He countered, gesturing to the sky. "We have perhaps four nights before we reach Iwagakure."

Raasu didn't bother hiding her surprise. " _Iwa_?" She asked incredulously, taking the cap off of the thin tube to pull out the scroll within. "I spent a good deal of time in Iwa a year ago."

The cris-cross of mountain ranges between Fire and Earth weaved around the smaller territories. Because of the relative truce between the two Great Nations, the four known valley-passes to Iwa were heavily travelled. Iwakakure itself was an impressive feat of stone that sprawled out from the far side of one of the rockiest mountains north of Kusa. It was also Waterfall's western neighbor.

"You have a base in _Iwa_?" She said again.

"You could say that," Itachi replied, rising to walk over to her seated form.

Raasu tracked his movements warily, but she still unrolled her prize. He was right: daylight was almost gone. Once they made contact with the rest of Akatsuki, she did not know how much time she would have to examine the scrolls before she had to hand them over to her village.

She was just starting to squint at the careful cursive in dying light when Itachi sat beside her. Raasu looked over at him aimlessly and found he was looking back at her with something of a question on his wary face. Silently, he made three seals and blew across two fingers. Fire followed his breath and collected into a glowing ball, lighting up the paper and throwing their small campsite into contrast.

He casually glanced down at the scroll and back at her. "May I?" He asked politely, tipping one side of his face towards the flame.

She nodded, dipping her eyes down after a second of considering his offer: light in exchange for reading material. She handed him a second scroll from her pack. "Thank you for the light."

The pair read quietly for a long while. Raasu shivered, but more from the proximity of the Uchiha than the cold. She forced him from her mind and focused on the scroll.

This scroll was a transcription of the second Kage summit. At the front of the scroll was a neat row of five seals, belonging to the five most powerful people of that era. Based on Raasu's basic history knowledge, the First Shinobi War had passed and a truce between the five so-called 'great nations' had tentatively sprung up, though not without resentments.

Raasu glanced quickly across the small fireball when Kisame broke the silence. He was barely visible, sitting a ways away from their fire. "I know Itachi won't tell me, but I'm _dying_ to know, Taki-san." She supposed 'Taki-san' referred to her not supplying them with a surname. "When _did_ you switch to your bushin?"

Engrossed as she was in her reading, it took her a moment to recall what he was talking about. When his words registered her head snapped to the Uchiha. Looking at her, his face was starkly shadowed by the now-glaring light of the hovering fire and the darkness of the enveloping canopy of leaves. Raasu was beginning to realize that an unreadable expression was the Uchiha's MO.

"You didn't really think you could get away with being a bushin without those sharingan noticing, did you?" Kisame answered her unasked question, amused by the unintentional surprise across her face. " _I_ was delightfully fooled, but not _that_ guy."

Raasu flashed from embarrassment to irritation before landing on understanding. "I suppose not," she said, smiling to hide her dismay. "My mistake."

Itachi looked at her a second more before resuming his reading. Raasu wanted to make a childish face at him, but instead she turned back to peer at Kisame before finally replying to his inquiry. "I switched during my hand-to-hand," she said carefully. A ninja did not reveal her secrets wantonly.

Kisame stared at her blankly while mulling over the fight. "Damn, I didn't see a _thing_." Raasu felt a smile tug at her over the way this was bothering the man.

"Your extended age-barai-uke* left an opening that the enemy's eye was invariably drawn to," Itachi interjected, "giving you opportunity to perform the necessary seals across your tanto hilt with stealth." He was right, of course, having caught it all in his sharingan. Upon engaging the first shinobi, Raasu had drawn a quick sketch of a plan in her mind. She'd switched to a bushin with the intention of tricking the second enemy into revealing himself. To do so, she'd landed a glancing blow to the opposing kunai, sweeping the tanto up in a slow, two-handed arc. The resulting opening to her torso drew her opponent's gaze for just a second, but that was enough to perform seals across the hilt and blend seamlessly with her bushin.

"Eheh," Kisame agreed, leaning back, " _fast_ , but that would _never_ work against a sharingan." She flicked her eyes over Itachi's again, seeing the red. After that, they let the conversation die.

When the Uchiha retired, Raasu stayed up, reading late into the night. She appreciated the fact that his katon stayed up with her too. She supposed, for that, she could take watch. They hadn't talked about it, so Raasu had to assume either they expected her to stay up for it, or that their chakra sensing abilities were so automatic as to be functional even in slumber. It was probably the latter.

Still, she supposed, she should take watch for _herself_ if not for them. She would have no false illusions about their loyalties.

* * *

A/N: *age-barai-uke is an upper sweeping block, common Japanese martial arts terminology.

Longest chapter yet! If you're curious about Raasu's back-story or are wondering what the _hell_ is up with Konoha, fear not. Chapter 4: _Tiger's eye_ will clear up some things.

As always, I appreciate any constructive criticism and encouragement, and thanks for reading!


	4. Tiger's eye

Paper Mountains

Chapter 4: Tiger's eye

* * *

Her feet slapped the packed earth heartily, but Raasu panted beneath her thick mask. Her thighs screamed and burned with the effort of maintaining the Hoshigaki's pace. She and her country's genin team had taken two weeks to travel from Takigakure to Konoha, and they moved at no small clip. At the rate Akatsuki was pushing they could make the same distance in a quarter of the time or less, and Raasu was suffering for it.

Her journey was made worse by the uneven, brush-covered forest floor, which grew thicker as they moved deeper into Fire, the terrain rockier and more drastically sloped. She had to watch her step or trip on loose rocks, and she cursed the Mist-nin with every uphill climb.

He led the way; she and the Uchiha fanned out behind.

"Why haven't we used game trails?" she probed gingerly, dodging a root. The even pack of the game trails was the route they'd taken on their way into the country, and she'd found them to be reliable.

"ANBU use them," the Uchiha said simply. His voice carried marvelously despite the distance between them.

She curled her lip. "ANBU doesn't travel in the _trees_?" She'd meant it to sound light, but her growing tiredness made it rude.

"ANBU," he ignored her tone, "travel on the ground _and_ in the trees. That way they stay spread out, even when travelling in close vertical formation." Itachi had always been a 'treetop' ANBU, first by ability, then by necessity, as captains were always awarded the best vantage point to better direct their squads.

Raasu almost sneered at his patient, sensible explanation. Whenever the Uchiha spoke, it was with patience, deliberation, and wisdom. "Run with me," she suggested instead, daring him to take a taste of what they were feeding her. She didn't know whether to expect a response. The Uchiha was so _guarded_ , beyond even what she would expect from a missing-nin. But then, Uchiha Itachi was not a _normal_ missing-nin.

But he did fall into step a few paces behind her, curious, if you could believe, what sort of perspective this mysterious shinobi from Takigakure was used to. In their short time together he already knew that her summon was issued and regulated by her hidden village. He knew where the hidden pouches in her backpack were. He knew that she was not as thoroughly trained as she would have him believe – he could read her hatred for him plain as day in the flashes of involuntary expression she wasn't quick enough to hide. And while he did not welcome traveling with someone with such obvious disdain for him, it was hardly surprising.

"Why did Takigakure choose you for this mission?" He wondered aloud. It was of course a rhetorical question, but one that he hoped would be answered soon. Clearly Takigakure regarded her skills highly, for them to send her to the likes of Akatsuki and expect her to hold her own.

The woman in question twisted her head around to glance at him. Her expression was unreadable – determined, maybe. Something flashed in her eyes.

"My village has faith in me, Uchiha-san," she called back, breathing hard.

"I'm sure they do." Raasu couldn't tell from his tone whether he was being sincere or condescending. She turned fully forwards and shook her head. Even knowing he was harmlessly traveling with her it was unnerving to glance back and see him following. With the way her heartbeat quickened and his red eyes stood out against the tree-line it felt like she was running away from him – and in some ways, she wished she really was.

Like Itachi, Raasu had come to understand a few things about her traveling partners in the days following their introduction.

First, they ate a lot of fish. There was fish at every meal, practically; fresh caught, served with re-hydrated vegetables and sometimes a packet of noodles. The nins took well advantage of the rushing streams that slithered over the country, meager compared to the wide rivers and tall rapids of Waterfall country, but still speckled with slivers of edible white meat.

Second, the Uchiha did not do the fishing. He preferred to sit and poke at it while it cooked, whereas his partner took an almost comically enthusiastic approach to catching the little buggers. The times she'd watched the Hoshigaki at the art, she admired his skill with the _yari*_. On rare days when the Hoshigaki was in too foul a mood for games, he'd use water jutsu to divert a section of a stream into a suspended ball, which he either dumped on the ground or flash-froze depending on his whim. Their dinner never had a chance.

Third, they cared little for her mission, aside from the Uchiha's interest in information pertaining to his former village. At least, outwardly. Raasu caught the Mist-nin staring at her a little too long, looking uncharacteristically thoughtful. She wondered why that was. With each other it was obvious they were well-acquainted simply through years of partnership. Perhaps he just wasn't used to having a third person around.

* * *

As they made camp for the evening, Raasu sighed with the ease of finally sitting down to give her legs a rest.

Determined to match their set pace without the ability to chakra-enhance her speed, Raasu had to grit her teeth and bear it out. After a sleepless first night, the second day had been grueling. Her body was well-conditioned and well-used to exerting herself in this way, truthfully, yet Akatsuki still pushed her beyond the limits of her endurance. A very low resting heart rate was the result of being used to operating at high levels of oxygen intake, so it was her muscles that would necessarily buckle before her chest and lungs felt any pain. While she could – and did – push chakra into the strained muscles to prolong their exhaustion, she had no means to increase speed. Without the ability to use chakra adhesion efficiently, she could not use bursts to propel from stride to stride without wasting chakra at an excessive rate.

The result, in short, was that she was _tired_. _Exhausted._ Drained of all energy and sore to boot. She pulled the second Kage Summit transcript out for another examination. The parchment was faded, but the five seals stood out like they were pressed yesterday. It was largely uninteresting, with long strings of formalities and pleasant words to and from each Kage amidst the actual discussion, but it was a convincing history lesson.

Context told her that the First Shinobi War lasted two years. During that time, Wind Country was the only one of the Five Nations not to lose its Kage in battle. Sandaime Sarutobi Hiruzen was the Hokage whose seal adorned the scroll – at 20 years old, the youngest Kage ever to be appointed, then and now.

The Summit was called and hosted by the also young Second Mizukage: Houzuki Gengetsu, who'd replaced his master after the former Mizukage was slain.

The whole of the Summit was interestingly concerned with the protection and ownership of a landmark which to Sagami's knowledge no longer existed: the Kannabi Bridge in Kusa's highlands, on the border with Earth country. Iwa was concerned that this bridge should be under the close guard of _Iwa_ shinobi, as it was apparently the most travelled trade route into their country. It was decided that Iwa was free to guard it even though the border was technically a half-mile _past_ it. Kusa not only owned the bridge, but the Grass village had _built_ it. Yet they were _not_ invited to the Summit, so had _no_ say in the treatment of their own landmark: just another instance of the five largest nations making decisions for the smaller, lesser territories.

"Taki-san," the Hoshigaki unexpectedly ventured, "What are you reading?"

She told him. It was the Summit following the First shinobi war.

"What was Kirigakure's stance in the First War?" He wondered.

The question puzzled her. Wasn't he _from_ Kirigakure? "I don't know," she answered truthfully. The strong man made her wary, but he didn't strike fear in her the way his partner did. Where the Uchiha behaved like a tightly wound spring, the Hoshigaki was more like a bear: no question he _would_ try to hurt you, but you knew what he was and you skirted around his claws accordingly.

"It's strange to see the alliance patterns that emerged after the Warring States period," she murmured. And because Kirigakure, while frequently antagonized by Konoha, has always chosen to remain tactfully distant from the other nations. Positioned as they were they'd make a strong ally to Takigakure (perhaps too strong), but the reign of the Bloody Mist proved them to be unpredictable. "As a shinobi of Kirigakure, wouldn't you know?"

"I'm _not_ a shinobi of Kirigakure, _idiot_ ," he drawled dangerously, tapping his forehead protector. "Can't you see the gash?"

She looked up, increasingly wary of his tone. What game was he playing? "You _were_ from there, though. The First shinobi war would have been ancient history during your academy days."

" _Ancient?_ Hmph. Like fifty years ago is _ancient_. What are you, twelve?"

She looked at him sidelong. "Twenty."

"And Kiri can burn in _hellfire_ for all I care," he accentuated this by slamming a fist down on his knee. "What's that about the Kannabi Bridge you were saying?"

She unrolled the last section and a thick parchment slid out of the base of the Summit scroll. It was bottom-heavy where it too bore five seals and signatures of the Kage of the time. It was titled simply: Armistice between the Five Great Nations. Year 28 (28th year since the founding of the Five Great Nations).**

"This says '28th year since the founding of the Five Great Nations'," she read, as if that explained it all. "But as anyone knows, Konoha, Suna, Iwa, Kiri and Kumo weren't founded all in the same year."

 _Konoha_ was born in the year 00 – they were regrettably first, and it wasn't until four years later that another "great" one was founded. Peace-loving Ame was the quickest to follow by the example of their then-friend Konoha, in the year 02. In 04 it was Suna, Iwa, and Kiri. Kumo wasn't until 09. Her own beautiful village was 08 – last year they celebrated the 60th anniversary of the founding.

She looked at him a second. "What do you know about the Kannabi Bridge, then?"

"Che, I asked _you_. Why do you care about an old decrepit landmark, anyway?"

"What do you mean, why do _I_ care? If you don't care, then why are you _asking_?" He was acting so _weird_ , like he was angry, only _not_ angry.

Itachi knew why he was asking. Kisame was trying to annoy enough to get her into an argument. He'd seen him do it before, and while Kisame could handle himself in the worst of situations, his poison tongue had gotten the both of them into trouble.

His partner smirked, the devil. "Because _you_ care, Taki-san." Kisame's eye glinted. "Please tell me about the Bridge, then."

She shot him a frown, but did answer. "The bridge was located entirely on Grass country soil, yet Kusa wasn't invited to this Summit to discuss its holding. Kusa built, manned, and maintained it for _years_ before this, and suddenly this Summit is held and they decide _Iwa_ can control it."

Her expression was passive but her eyes glinted with justice. So that was it – the Five Great nations jilting the smaller ones. He loved getting a rise out of another shinobi both on and off the battlefield - almost as much as he loved the sound of his own voice – and letting it show that she had an _opinion_ about something gave him the opening to _antagonize_ said opinion. "The ninja villages have always operated selfishly," he condescended. "It's in our nature. And anyway, Iwa probably did a better job protecting it."

"It wasn't fair to Kusagakure," she insisted, oblivious to his motive. "The bridge _belonged_ to them. And then, in the _third_ war, Konoha gets to trample all over Grass country, _destroy_ their bridge, and at the end of it takes no responsibility for the damage."

"Why do you have yourself all worked up over a thing like _fairness_?" Kisame challenged. "Being a shinobi you should know by now that nothing is ever _fair_ , especially as far as the hidden villages are concerned."

"I would expect nothing less coming from someone who _abandoned_ his village," she shot back.

Kisame very nearly cackled at her, complaining loudly. "You loyal shinobi," he exclaimed, shaking his head. "You're all so god damn annoying, going on about this and that and _honor_ and _pride_."

Raasu bristled. "If believing in my village's ideals and putting my life on the line for a better world is _annoying,_ then I guess I'm guilty."

"Are you really so naïve as to think that _your_ village – hell, _any_ village – is working towards a better world?" He asked. "Sit down."

"I'm already seated," she said, crossing her arms. "And I don't know about _your_ village, but I owe Takigakure my life."

"You don't owe them a damn thing," he snapped. "You're a pawn in their game and you're a fool to think any different."

"Of course all shinobi are pawns." she exclaimed, eyes bright. "It's in our job description. But my village is working towards a better way, and I'd be happy to go over it with you _in the interest of cooperation_."

"How noble of you," he snorted. "But don't bother; your coup isn't going to change a damn thing anyway."

"Are you always this childish?" She retorted. _He's baiting you_ , her inner self reasoned, but she was too exhausted to be the stoic, emotionless diplomat.

"I'm just trying to make a point here, Taki-san," he innocently threw up his hands.

"Well then you'd better get around to it," she ground out.

Kisame's eye glinted with a spark of villainous glee: "If I'm lucky you might get to meet _Kakuzu_."

Wisely, Itachi had chosen to stay out of the fire, and he did not regret that decision.

Their guest all but jumped out of her seat into a fighting stance, fists clenched at her sides. She bristled all over again at the mention of the former Taki shinobi, and was practically statuesque with concealed tension.

"Kakuzu," she finally spat out like dirty water. He was well-known in her village. Well hated. Their most infamous _traitor_. "Why should I care about _him_?"

"Ask him why he _left_ Takigakure."

Sagami curled her hands and inhaled deeply. The last thing she needed was to discuss the elephant in the Akatsuki room; namely, that Takigakure knew of Kakuzu's existence and chose to pursue a contract with the organization anyway, ordering all operatives to follow the 'live and let live' mantra when it came to their oldest missing-nin. For now, anyway. To Raasu, the compromise was unacceptable, but she _did_ have to live with it. "No," she asserted.

Kisame deflated a little when the one word failed to produce the explosion he baited, so he waived a hand dismissively, determined to undercut her defenses, even if it had to be a later date.

"I'm tired." She glanced at the Uchiha as she moved past, headed for her bedroll. He was looking at her. "And I'm not going to play your games." Raasu hardly had time to roll out her bedroll before she was out like a light, exhausted beyond belief and oblivious to the activity around her.

* * *

The next morning, Raasu woke up late – and more than a little paranoid. Emerging from sleep put her instantly wary, and she winced as she flexed out her sore muscles. All of the energy she felt from last night's argument drained out of her body when she looked around and saw neither missing-nin. Must've run off for breakfast, her groggy mind reasoned. A second later she realized her mis-reasoning.

She lurched upright and was promptly hit with a wave of nausea. She rolled over and retched. _Genjutsu_ , she realized faintly. It left a numb heavy shock in the pit of her stomach: in actuality, they were gone. _Gone_ gone.

What the hell was she _thinking_ , letting herself succumb to exhaustion like that? Had she really grown _that_ complacent in the last few days, that she just _assumed_ once they agreed to take her with them that they wouldn't run off without her if she fell behind their schedule? That they wouldn't evaluate her skills to find if she was even worth the trouble? Stupid, she was so _stupid_.

Out of nowhere, Kisame's hand clamped down on her mouth, making her jump but muffling her indignation. "We've got to move," he hissed. "Quiet." Her things flew into her backpack and were then shoved at her.

"How long have you been gone?" she glowered, wiping her mouth with a sleeve and hastily stowing her bedroll. "Where is your partner?"

"Come on," Kisame urged. Raasu wrenched out of his grasp.

"Not until you tell me what's going on," she accused. "You put me under a genjutsu so you could get leave without my waking up!"

Kisame rolled his eyes, not denying it. "We had no choice; you couldn't come where we went. We got into some trouble… Itachi is ahead of us; we're going to jump to his location."

"What trouble?" Her glower deepened.

Kisame crossed his arms. "Sorry, Taki. That's need-to-know. Now if you want to come with me you'd better pick up your shit; otherwise I'm leaving."

"I'm coming," she snapped. "Hmph."

When the water from Kisame's technique cleared they stood in a small clearing with his partner. He was a lot further from their starting point than Kisame assumed, and he could easily see her disorientation at being dragged such a distance by someone else's jutsu.

Once she regained her balance, Raasu saw that something was off about the Uchiha. He didn't look at either of them, but she was transfixed. He straightened up at their arrival, like he'd been hunched over. She frowned. If she didn't know better she'd say he was in pain – but how could that be?

"What happened?" she asked again.

"Like I said, Taki," the Hoshigaki growled. "We got into some trouble, and I promise you, this doesn't concern you."

"He cast a _genjutsu_ over me," she hissed, taking a step towards the larger man and pointing at the Uchiha who was still turned away. _"Tell me."_

"Taki," the Uchiha said. His voice was tight. "Jiraiya of the Sannin was our adversary. As was… my brother."

Raasu was silenced by that admission. Whatever reverie she had established between herself and the pair over the past few days was shattered by his tone - low, threatening growl. Darkness gathered around his person and the air was likewise chilled. It wasn't killing intent, exactly. It was something inexplicable and more dangerous for its unrecognizability. The seriousness of his crimes and danger of his person snapped back into place in her mind. The Uchiha was a tightly wound spring, and at this second it appeared he might snap, consumed by the demons of the stories told about him. For the first time she felt fear - staggering fear - at his presence.

He started walking. She followed silently.

* * *

It annoyed Raasu immensely that after this morning, the Hoshigaki was still so eager to pick up on their almost-fight from the night before. Didn't he ever get tired of baiting other people? "I have no reason to contact him." Him being Kakuzu, a topic Kisame insisted on pressing. "My orders are to stay clear." Her tone tried to end the conversation, but the Hoshigaki wasn't having it.

"You always follow orders, little kunoichi-san?" The three of them _walked_ together – a new feat. One glance at the Uchiha had told her why: he was still tense, withdrawn, brooding. The menacing intent had subsided over time, but Raasu still maintained a careful distance from him. She assumed it was over his brother, Sasuke. What she didn't know was that their Akatsuki business took them to Shukuba village, where they intercepted the Kyuubi vessel with the intent to capture it.

"Of course I do," she snapped back at the Mist-nin. "But I wouldn't expect you to understand a thing like _loyalty_." You're just letting him get to you, a part of her whispered. But she was still tired, and on edge herself after her morning scare. Not that it was any excuse for her position.

Kisame snorted. "Watch your words," he taunted. "You might have to eat them someday."

Any reply she might have crafted was cut off by the Uchiha. "We are almost there. I am going to put you under a genjutsu."

She flinched away, thoughts of Kisame fleeing her head, replaced by indignation and the cold stab of fear.

"Can't have you knowing our location, now can we?" Kisame taunted.

She looked from one Akatsuki to the other. " _Genjutsu_ again," she accused, unable to keep her voice from shaking.

"You needn't worry about coming to harm," Itachi sounded bored – and impatient.

"Not that you have any choice, you know," Kisame finished.

Raasu thinned her lips. She bought herself time by checking the straps on her backpack with slow deliberation. They were close to the border with Earth country now – she could tell by the way the hills rose and fell sharply away, and the growing change in tree families. If they'd wanted her harmed, she wouldn't be standing there now, she reasoned. And they were right – what choice did she have?

There was a tightening in her chest as she raised her head and dragged her eyes up to a pair of red, as always only just visible above his high-necked collar. She paused at the top of his cloak, displaying un-called-for indecision that betrayed her fear of him. Up until now she looked him in the eye whenever possible, _always_ when speaking to him, and often when he spoke. But daring to look into his eyes to prove a point was very different from this. _This_ time he would use them. And _this_ time she was very, very afraid of him.

The second of grace period passed, and now she had to act. All it took was a small flick of her eyelash to create the line of sight needed to activate the sharingan's genjutsu. One second she stared into the top of Uchiha Itachi's collar, the next she no longer felt her own existence. The only awareness in her mind was a word: _red_.

* * *

A/N: Here's some history for you! Keep in mind that all of the history I'm discussing is totally canon-compliant.

* _yari_ refers to a type of long spear

**After the Warring States period, I like to think the _modern era_ , so to speak, was born, and thus, the start of the year '00'. '00' coincides with the founding of Konoha, since it was, you know, the _first_ shinobi nation to emerge out of the Warring States period (canon). In principle, then, the year 61 is exactly the 61st year since the founding of the shinobi nation system.

Next: _critical juncture_


	5. Critical juncture

Paper Mountains

Chapter 5: critical juncture

* * *

"Itachi, your eyes…" Kisame warned when Itachi dropped to one knee in obvious strain. The Mist-nin frowned. Ameterasu always took a lot out of his partner. Damn Jiraiya for interfering. And damn Uchiha Sasuke for showing up at the wrong time.

"They are fine," the stubborn Uchiha said stiffly.

Kisame looked disgruntled. They weren't fine, but Itachi would rather die than admit that. "So long as I don't have to carry her," he huffed.

Itachi gave him a glance and declined to answer such a silly rhetorical question. Bound by his genjutsu, the Taki nin would walk herself off a cliff if he bid her do so. "I thought you were getting used to her," Itachi commented offhand.

Kisame shrugged. "Do you know how nice it is to talk to someone _outside_ our organization? Other than _you_ , seriously?"

Itachi made a non-committal grunt in response.

"Ex _actly_ my point. I can't remember the last time I had a good shouting match. Arguing with _you_ is like talking at a _wall_ and no one else gives enough shit to even _have_ an argument. But I'll get her yet."

"Hm."

"So what do you make of her?"

"I had not realized it was necessary to "make" anything of her," his partner replied darkly.

Kisame started to talk back, then shook his head and thought the better of it. Itachi was irritable, and Kisame did not have a death wish. He mumbled something unintelligible and started walking towards their destination.

* * *

Like waking from a dream, Raasu stirred to find herself standing up. Immediately she tensed before recalling recent memory. There were ever-spinning black tomoe on a field of red… the black had spun out in a dizzying circle to spiral into trees with black wings flapping. Wandering, alone, she could move in only a set path, her feet unwilling to change course. There'd been something weird about those trees and that red sky, but she just couldn't put her finger on it. Both mind and her body were prevented from deviating from the path. She walked for a long time it seemed, but the landscape remained the same. Black trees, black horizon. The only sound the _thwump_ of the wings, ceaselessly flapping.

At the end, Uchiha appeared at her side. He covered her eyes with a light tap of his thumb and forefinger, muttered "sleep" without opening his mouth, and all the red dissolved into endless black. Then she opened her eyes to full color.

Raasu took one lurching step and collapsed forward, retching the contents of her stomach onto the packed earth. She grimaced at the display of weakness in front of her new companions. It couldn't be helped, though – genjutsu had tricky, disorienting effects on the body, and it was already not her strong suit. She wiped her mouth with the cloth of her black sleeve and rose.

The Hoshigaki's ghostly skin looked a cheerier hue by the cherry-orange glow of a _katon_. The three stood on packed earth inside some kind of underground passageway.

"We are under the mountain range," the Uchiha supplied in response to her glancing up and around at the surrounding rock. She was grateful that they pointedly ignored her vomit. Under the mountain range meant they were somewhere between Waterfall and Rock countries. Passageways had always existed below the mountains, but this one was strange. The air felt hushed and stale, like it lacked the natural flow of air and water.

She looked back at the Akatsuki pair, observing the Uchiha in particular. He stared back at her, haughtily she thought. The feeling of darkness had subsided a little, but the underlying intent had not. With Raasu's renewed awareness of his demon she avoided his eyes. In the instant of his genjutsu she had seen anger there, and sadness, like the mouth of a dark void waiting to swallow her whole.

She shivered the thought away. The man's demons were his alone.

Akatsuki's rocky hideout was an interconnected circle of passageways stemming from the one in which she had awakened. When they came to a T in the system they led her to the right, tunnel curving around to the left. The rock changed color there, dulling to a grey-brown rather than a red-brown. They stopped at the next intersection.

"You will meet us here in two hours," the Hoshigaki informed her. To the right was a set of looming doors, shut and locked with a horizontal beam. To the left an open double doorway looked into a furnished living room. Straight ahead the tunnel abruptly darkened as it curved out of sight.

Who is 'us'? she wanted to ask. Would she speak only to their leader, or to the whole organization? He certainly wasted no time - seeing her within two hours of her arrival. All the better. The sooner she delivered their proposition, the sooner she could get on with the next phase of her mission. She nodded.

The living room was the center of the circle of tunnels. Its walls sloped up into a high dome, the whole structure cut roughly out of the rock of the mountain just as the passage had been. Electric light wired into wall-mounted fixtures and there was a bulletin board covered in butcher paper.

They walked through and out into another passageway – presumably the other side of the circle. "That was the common room," the Hoshigaki remarked.

This time they went left and when they came to the fourth door on the right, he opened it. "These rooms are all private – you'll be staying in this one while you're here." The Uchiha was already gone.

"In two hours you will meet with our organization. Go to the chamber we walked past earlier," he dictated. "Pein doesn't like lateness," he advised as he brushed past her.

"How many of you are here?" She asked.

Kisame bared his teeth at her. "You'll find out in two hours, won't you?"

"Two hours," Raasu repeated, nodding. In the room was a bed, desk, chair, and freestanding clothes rack. A second door led into the washroom to the right. Two hours was a small amount of time, but she would manage. A shower and a good mouth scrubbing (she _had_ vomited recently) was the first immediate need. A _real_ shower, not a hurried, icy dip in some creek with all her clothes on.

The washroom was long and narrow, and there was a door at the opposite end. She reached out and could feel no presence behind it, but locked it just in case.

There was plumbing and hot water, somehow, but no fan and no vent, so the walls were soon dripping with condensed moisture. She ran a hand under the water, checking the temperature.

It was strange, she thought, how no one seemed to be around at this base. The common room looked obviously used, but vacated, like its occupants had scattered to their corners when she, a stranger, arrived. All missing-nin were strange, and Akatsuki was a group of distrustful loners, somehow pulled together into this weird organization. She thought back to the stale air in the tunnel. This entire base had to be completely fabricated – if it weren't, there would be airflow and some moisture in the air from the tunnel's exits.

Sighing, she dropped the heavy ANBU vest and pants to the floor. She was alone and inside a structure for the first time since Konoha, and she relished her nakedness and the enveloping steam that curled around her body and filled her lungs. Raasu scrubbed her body clean of the scent of Fire country forests, hands running suds along pale arms.

How many of them would be here? It might simply be Pein and an advisor or two. No need to involve the whole of his organization if he was the decision-maker; but then that depended on how he ran his organization. She closed her eyes, imagining herself in a different tub, in a different country. If all went well with her audience she would be headed back to Takigakure for a report – finally. It'd been two months since she'd seen her beautiful country. Ideally Pein would send an ambassador with her, which would mean associating with _another_ Akatsuki missing-nin. The thought soured her expression. Associating with missing-nins was a necessary part of her mission description, she reminded herself. A very distasteful part.

A shinobi of greater greed and lesser resolve might be tempted to abandon Takigakure and become a missing-nin like these Akatsuki, but that was a thought Raasu would not entertain. She knew she was chosen for this mission over higher ranked shinobi for exactly that reason. Absolute, unwavering loyalty was a must, and if Raasu was one thing to her village, it was loyal. She would see this thing through to the end. _My body, my_ _country_. Or something like that.

Done with her shower, she unlocked the other door and exited to her room. The stone floor was chilly on her wet feet. Steam from her shower billowed out ahead of her.

Putting on her _own_ clothes was a welcome comfort after a week in full ANBU. She checked the fittings on her pouches, weapons, and guards, and then secured her forehead protector. She checked herself in the small mirror. Ready.

* * *

She stepped through heavy double doors into a large chamber - so large that the light did not reach either the far corner or the ceiling. Opposite the doors was a long, thick table; perpendicular from her perspective, and high, like a judge's altar. Seated in the center was the man she recognized as Pein, and to his left Konan, the heads of Akatsuki. Fanning out on either side were six other members: Uchiha Itachi of Konoha, Hoshigaki Kisame of Kiri, Zetsu of unknown origin; Sasori of the Red Sand of Suna, Kakuzu of Taki, Oshiro Tenzen of Kumo*. Eight deadly missing-nin in total.

Sagami looked different dressed in her own clothing. Her hitai-ate bore the waterfall symbol and was gash-less; an odd sight in their company. Physically, the kunoichi was smaller than she'd been in her oversize ANBU now that her attire fit well, but her command of the room was larger than life. Her footfalls were silent as she padded through the center of the antechamber carrying an armful of scrolls clutched on her left – right hand casually at her side. It reminded him of their first meeting – what seemed so long ago but was in reality only a few days past – her gaze direct, looking strongly at ease. She strode straight up to the low rough-shod table placed in the center of the room and stood, eyeing each member in turn, commanding all of their collective attention and changing the air of the room without even speaking. For that Itachi gave her credit.

To his left Kisame grinned and leaned into the back of his chair, hands at the back of his head. He watched her carefully place four scrolls one by one on the tabletop, dissecting her movements with wide eyes and bared teeth. There was no recognition in her eyes when her commanding gaze fell upon him – how annoying, he thought. Back with that tasteless prudence.

Raasu walked around to stand to the left of the table and bowed, as she had to them at their first meeting, only this time with the even more formal traditional gesture of straightening halfway in a respectful pause, during which she said "Pein," and then, "Konan," before standing up fully. She omitted honorifics because she wasn't _addressing_ the pair, merely establishing for the group that she knew their names. Most probably _all_ of their names.

Their leader nodded towards her. "I am told that you are here on behalf of Takigakure. The Akatsuki will listen to you."

"Thank you Pein-san, Konan-san. Let us begin without delay." Briefly she cast her eyes down, drawing a reflective breath before launching into her role. "My purpose here is to facilitate an alliance between Akatsuki and Takigakure." She intoned. "Konoha and the other four so-named 'Great Nations' have abused their power over us lesser countries for far too long. That is the bottom line: the driving force behind our dissent," she declared.

The cavern was silent. Itachi watched her for any small fidgeting or excessive blinks that would give away her nervousness, but apparently she was quite at ease. It reminded him of her when she'd first accosted them in the forest: outwardly calm and even more composed than she'd been then. A formidable feat to display in front of eight of the most ruthless criminals of the modern age. A lesser shinobi would sweat and dart his eyes around, but she was apparently expertly trained in keeping composure under intense scrutiny.

"First I will give you an overview of Takigakure's vision," she informed them, "then I will explain Akatsuki's role." Her low voice echoed around the cavern. "Put simply, Takigakure will overthrow Konoha's rule and force them to accept a new world order, starting with the expansion of the Kage system." She sounded very sure of the outcome. Itachi slid his eyes over to their leader, but Pein looked impassive as ever.

"Our goal is to ensure that each and every hidden village has a stake in shinobi government whose authority is recognized by all other villages. In every major shinobi war, the countries with the highest percent casualties to population and the highest destruction to infrastructure were the smaller territories, abused by the Great Nations for their lands, resources, and manpower. This is a fact. Takigakure's goal is to level the playing field. The Great Nations must be taught that no matter how much they trample on the smaller territories, we will always have the means and the ability to topple the most powerful nation."

" _Konoha_ needs a reminder. Their influence extends beyond the limits of their borders. Takigakure will destroy their top-heavy leadership of the shinobi world. We recognize that _every_ hidden village deserves a leader with the title of Kage, not only the five largest villages," she asserted.

An interesting proposal, Itachi mused, and one with some history. During his time as ANBU captain he'd learned from Sandaime Sarutobi that in the formation of the Kage system it had come up as a point of discussion: whether to grant Kage status to the leaders of _all_ emerging hidden villages. Unknown secret meetings and forgotten deals led to a pact between Konoha, Iwa, Suna, Kiri, and Kumo's first leaders: that they alone would head the shinobi nations in this new age, securing their stability and power and thereby the safety of their villages from outside attack.

Any alliances formed in those years were forgotten by the time the world slid into the First Shinobi War, but the stability of the five 'Great Nations' remained. Those five grew into relative prosperity by reputation – at the expense of the smaller villages, some of which had existed around that time and were long since dissolved.

"Konoha forgets that it is a _hidden_ village. It is _not_ the governing center of the Fire nation, as it would like to believe. _No_ hidden village takes part in the government of the country in which it resides. Each village is self-governing and under the principle that all villages are _equal_ , a village's 'operating area' should not be defined automatically by the boundaries of its including nation. Put more simply, Konoha operates freely and exercises control over most of Fire country, and most contracts within the national boundaries are awarded to Konoha simply because it is the only hidden Fire village."

"There is no reason for this other than a misguided sense of loyalty. In fact, while there is currently only one hidden village per country, there is no reason for this to remain the case. The vastness and central location of Fire makes it a prime example."

"While there is no means to disperse missions equally – doing so would undermine the free market _and_ the autonomy of the villages – we _can_ exercise a small degree of influence: naturalize the operating area of a hidden village. Define a certain kilometer radius around the village center to be the village's _active operating area_ ; the area in which it would be reasonable to expect local shinobi to exercise direct control. Outside of this active area might – depending on the proximity of surrounding villages – be considered _neutral_ _zone_ : not under the control of any one hidden village."

Itachi frowned. _That_ was unexpected. Give other hidden villages access to parts of Fire country with no consequences?

"Our attack plan is simple: attack and overthrow Konoha, taking its Hokage and council prisoner and holding the village proper in limbo. At a pre-designated location we will convene the largest Kage Summit, first of its kind, where new Kage will be introduced, documents will be signed, and recognition awarded."

"We need _other hidden villages_ to agree to meet at our Kage Summit. We need _Akatsuki_ to ensure the capture of Konohagakure directly." Her eyes rested on Pein. "We know that you also aim to overthrow them, and to this end Takigakure will form an alliance with your organization."

Raasu bowed again, concluding, "ultimately I am here to act as my country's representative and for you to instruct me as you see fit, to our mutual benefit." She nodded, stepping back in line with the low table of scrolls.

For a minute no one spoke, and as the last of the echoes died all shinobi present digested what they had just heard: treason, rebellion, revolution – but she had delivered it with a confidence that made it all sound _comfortably plausible_. Throughout her speech Sagami was resistant to the missing-nins in front of her, passing her eyes over each of them to command their attention without really studying them, so now she refocused her attention. She glanced at the Uchiha, looking for something, but he was as impassive as the whole lot. Even Kisame was leaning forward on his elbows, not even smirking.

Konan spoke first. "What does Akatsuki gain from the arrangement?" Her voice was calm, but sharp – alert.

"First, a longstanding ally among the hidden villages," Raasu answered easily. _That_ was truly nothing to be taken lightly, which the organization of criminals must know. Akatsuki has undertaken many a contract with a hidden village or two, but only under one-time pretense. Takigakure proposed an _indefinite_ truce.

"Also," Raasu amended. "Forgive me," her lips moved. "I was under the impression that Akatsuki was the underground face of Amegakure – we were prepared to offer recognition – the chance to rule legitimately. But if that is not the case…"

"Your village is correct," Pein murmured from his seat at the center. "Ame is under our protection."

"Ah," Raasu understood. "So this _is_ a secondary structure." She wondered why they were all gathered beneath Iwa, and not in Ame. "In that case," her voice carried, "we offer you the opportunity to come out of the shadows – to rule your hidden village from the light, with recognition from the other villages."

Pein sat back in his chair, bringing a hand up to his face. Konan was still a statue beside him. "What is the proposed timeline?" Pein asked. "How soon do you expect your proposed rebellion to occur?"

"If you permit me to escort an ambassador to my village, we can discuss it with our council." She paused. "But given that you and I are conversing now, in October, by the end of this year we will have a better idea of who will support our cause. The latest we expect to attack is the end of next year. We will want to act quickly once the ball starts rolling, however, so by my estimate the earliest would be by February of next year – in four months time."

"More than likely, there will be some who want to attack Konoha _now_ , as they have just lost their Hokage. I think that would be a mistake, however." She shook her head. It was a bold move, voicing her own personal opinions. But being a shinobi was one thing – being at the forefront of the world's development was something entirely different. Something she liked. Nothing was wrong with being a pawn to her village, as Kisame had put it. She _was_ , and had no qualms about that aspect. But she also had ambitions that wanted to be satisfied. Her mission put her in a good position; taking initiative would show that she had a decent head on her shoulders and wasn't just a talking machine following orders, but thought ahead and went beyond the scope of her assignment.

"As tempting as an opening like this might be, the fact is that we aren't ready. Our deal with the Akatsuki is merely one of the first steps. Without more support from other hidden villages a takeover of Konoha would mean nothing." She took a step in their direction, gesturing with her hands. "But like I said, we would talk over the most probable timeline with my country's leaders directly. This first visit is to assess _your_ needs to see if this kind of alliance is a possibility for your organization."

"It is a possibility," Pein began. Raasu was getting the impression that the orange-haired man disliked speaking and was only doing so because he had to. "Akatsuki and Takigakure will come to a mutually beneficial relationship, I have no doubt," he continued. "Now, however, I'd like to know about _you_ ," he tapped his finger on – presumably – a piece of paper in front of him. "Jinyama Sagami."

* * *

A/N: _Phew_ , but that's a lot to take in. This is the second of three chapters that were a total _bitch_ to write. So much dialogue, theory, negotiation, and oh my god the actual, overarching plot is so heavy. So much fabrication on my end it might as well be an original work of fiction… just kidding. This is fanfiction, don't worry. Canon-compliant but basically AU. I do have a few other stories I'm building on the side, but this is the one I'm really trying to crank out for the time being.

*Oshiro Tenzen, Kakuzu's former partner, one of the many he will have murdered before settling with Hidan. Name unimportant, included for consistency. There was a missing-nin Tenzen from Kumogakure in the Sakura novel apparently; name taken from there.

Next: _chilly dispositions_


	6. Chilly dispositions

Paper Mountains

Chapter 6: chilly dispositions

* * *

"Now, however, I'd like to know about _you_ , Jinyama Sagami."

Raasu blinked away her initial shock quickly, much to Kisame's disappointment. He _loved_ when his leader got the jump on an unsuspecting foe. Pein never told them his plans before they occurred, which was a blessing and a curse, but something to get used to in Akatsuki. For the young Taki-nin, Kisame was fairly certain she had not suspected the thoroughness of Pein's research into her background. After all, it had only been a short odd week since she had appeared in front of himself. Kisame had no idea the nin _had_ any name besides the one she introduced to them, nor did he care much, but by the stricken look on her face, it was obvious she was surprised, and that pleased him.

Akatsuki was a very resourceful organization. _Sagami Raasu_ was the name on her shinobi papers; _Jinyama_ , her family name, was to her knowledge unassociated with her shinobi status. Takigakure only pressed her for information about her background long enough to learn it was civilian – shinobi villages tended to be interested only in _shinobi_ bloodlines. By touting her family name, Akatsuki was taunting her.

"Jounin," Pein read further, "but no prior ranking history." He was trying to intimidate her in as few words as possible.

"Yes," she confirmed, stuttering. "I am a jounin of Takigakure." What of it?

"Takigakure chose you to represent their shinobi class, and therefore, you are of interest." Konan explained. "Hoshigaki-san informed me about your fight with those ANBU." Raasu refocused on her face to the right of Pein's. Her manner of speaking was more formal than her counterpart's. Her hair was blue, only a little darker than Raasu's own. She looked like steel and silk and very pretty. "Tell me why you were selected for this mission," she finished. Her lips moved softly and her eyes were full of solemn interest.

Raasu mimed her face to the image of compliance. So _that_ was what they wondered. They already knew her combat was up to par with Konoha standard ANBU. That was a must, since Akatsuki's prowess was infamy; they would not truce with just _anyone_ – it must be both strategically and combatively advantageous.

"I am sufficiently ranked in taijutsu and ninjutsu. My stamina is above average. I have served Takigakure for seven years, three of which as a political representative. I am versed in history of the shinobi world. There are others like me, and many far outrank me who might have been chosen for this mission, but I do possess one trait which is essential to success: absolute loyalty to Takigakure." She fixed her eyes on Konan's veiled purples. "Takigakure is not so foolish as to think that sending a lone liaison to a criminal organization does not have the risk of said liaison _switching sides_. My village trusts that I am not the type of person to consider it. Others might have been."

Kisame reacted with a snort of muffled laughter, which Konan ignored. She nodded, seemingly satisfied, then looked to Pein. Their eyes met and like the flash of understanding between the Hoshigaki and the Uchiha, some message passed between Pein and Konan. When Pein turned back to look at Raasu, there was a mysterious force behind his eyes, like the swirling winds of a particularly fierce storm.

The remaining short time of the meeting was a quick back-and-forth overview of the scrolls Raasu stole from Konoha and a sketch of how they might be used to convince other shinobi nations to join Takigakure's underlying dissent. She was not so foolish as to tell them exactly _which_ nations were on the short list of potential allies.

Ultimately, she closed the meeting with another bow. "Thank you for granting me this audience."

"Hm," Pein affirmed. He spoke to the entire gathered group. "Entertain yourselves within this base until I disperse assignments. Jinyama, I will call for you when I have decided how to proceed. Dismissed."

* * *

The sight of him without his Akatsuki cloak quieted her, and she slowed down her walk. There was his face, seen in its entirety for the first time – not half-obscured by the high collar of his Akatsuki coat, or misshapen by the dying light of a campfire. There were his eyes, the same eyes she'd already met a hundred times, atop a face that was by all accounts supposed to be tinged with demonic fury. Instead it was just… a face. She stared, unabashedly taking in soft features and a feathery grace she hadn't in a million years expected from the Uchiha.

"Myojinyama," he stopped her.

She stiffened at his addition of 'Myo', the prefix to Jinyama that was dropped in her parent's generation, but she put that on the back burner for now. She hadn't forgotten the earlier intense radiation from him that was not quite killing intent, and was wary about encountering him alone. Even now, his aura was clouded with black mist in her mind's eye. "Yes, Uchiha-san?"

Sagami was twenty, and at that moment she was made aware of Uchiha Itachi – as a person. Beyond the threatening aura, the confined air of the tunnel gave his voice a velvety depth. They hadn't spoken since before her introduction.

"There is no need to wear our cloaks within this space," he informed her. She nodded, keeping her eyes firmly fixed at the bridge of his nose, catching every twitch of his deadly eyes. "Having them at our meeting was a formality." And a scare tactic, she thought, meant to make their imposing organization seem all the more threatening.

She nodded again, not quite trusting her voice to be steady with their solitude and his dark presence. The realization that she'd made the automatic classification of 'attractive' – and about her age – pushed to the front of her awareness, sparking a bit of anger in her.

"You are not afraid to look me in the eye. Why?"

The question puzzled her. Surely he knew that she was very, _very_ afraid of him? That fear had _nothing_ to do with the choice to meet his sharingan? She mustered her courage to answer. "I will never defeat you. No matter how strong I become, I will never reach your level. So avoiding your genjutsu will not make a difference in whether I live or die," she pointed out, gaining ground. "But it _will_ make a difference in how seriously you take me. A bashful kunoichi is beneath your notice, but one who looks into your doujutsu unflinchingly is worth her salt." As if to prove it, Raasu flicked her eyes from red to red, willing her racing brain to still.

Itachi's stone gaze looked down his nose at the shinobi in front of him. Somehow he couldn't picture her 'bashful'. "A wise observation." He spoke without appearing to move a muscle.

Not knowing what to say and being entirely confused about the exchange, Raasu fell into silence. She was about to start walking when he inexplicably spoke again, changing the subject. "You hate me."

She struggled with her words, at a loss. She couldn't fathom the motive behind his inquisition. But of _course_ she hated him; she hated _all_ missing-nins. People who have abandoned the village that gave them _life_ and _purpose_ were a low form of scum. She had accepted the mission with mixed thoughts: on one hand, she sneered the idea of making deals with criminals; on the other, the value of their power over the shinobi world and their ability to strike fear in their enemies was better served _for_ Takigakure than against it. And when her mission proved successful, it would boost her standing as a shinobi and add a tick or two to her list of abilities.

At the end of the day, though, Raasu was not here as herself; she was here as an extension of Takigakure. She represented their interests and in some cases made decisions on their behalf. She was expected to handle delicate situations… delicately. And by that she meant that under no circumstances was she to goad, anger, threaten, or otherwise antagonize _any_ of the group's members. Sometimes that might mean keeping her personal opinions… personal.

"You're mistaken, Uchiha-san, and I'm sorry if I've given you that impression," she replied evenly, straightening her back a little and making her expression blank. "I do not hate you." Perhaps there was a way to handle this line of questioning both delicately _and_ personally.

He cocked his head, inviting her to continue.

"I'll not deny that I have little respect for missing-nin," she conceded. "Nor will I deny that I often wonder what goes through your head. But my purpose here has no patience for petty emotions like 'hate'. I distrust you. I find you uncomfortable. I am afraid of you. But I do not _hate_ you." Her eyes darkened, thinking.

"I've read your file – you _real_ file, the one in the Konoha library of records," she supplied.

"Hm," he declined to comment, not asking her to _which_ of his many files she was referring.

"By age thirteen, you'd already committed all of the acts for which you are internationally known, both commendable and sickening." She shook her head, something twisted in her gut, making her wonder if she should just keep her mouth shut, but the curious part of her was insatiable. "Please stop me, Uchiha-san, when I overstep. Stop me if you would rather I not speak about this."

"I opened the door, Myojinyama-san. Continue." Again her extended family name, this time with a twist of a joke in his voice.

"I read your file," she repeated carefully. "When you were thirteen, you murdered…your clan…in pursuit of power – it was a test of how far you'd come at the time. You told that to your brother, who you tortured that night." She molded her phrasing carefully to avoid sounding accusatory.

Itachi regarded her carefully. No one talked to him candidly about his past. Her presence at Akatsuki was surely an interesting experiment in interaction with outsiders. "Hm," he said again, neither confirming nor denying.

"But if I am being frank with you, which I believe that I am," she was speeding up her words, and forced them to slow down. "It doesn't make sense," she enunciated slowly. "Little of note shows up on your record after you left Konoha. Nothing to the same scale as what happened there. If you were interested in pursuing ultimate power, the slaying of your family and abandonment of Konoha should have been the beginning, not the pinnacle. Yet here you are, six years later, to all accounts doing very little other than following orders… Certainly not pushing yourself towards greater gain. If you _were_ in pursuit of absolute power, shouldn't you be _leading_ Akatsuki?"

He moved so fast she only blinked and his hand was on her, throwing her backwards with such force that her heels scraped the floor. They would have crashed into the wall of the tunnel had Itachi not performed some invisible space-time jutsu, sending her _through_ it – literally.

The abrupt distortion made her insides turn over, and Raasu would have crumpled to the floor if Itachi hadn't kept moving forward, propelling them both through the room that existed behind the wall. This time when they came to the far wall she crashed into it, his forearm keeping her pinned.

Raasu stared at him through dizziness and nausea, affronted by the invasion of her person – even if she _had_ been voicing delicate assumptions about him. The nerve! Briefly she felt the impression that while she wasn't exactly _surprised_ by his sudden assault, she was afraid of what he might do, and through her stare she might have seen the same conclusion in his eyes.

"You know who I am, and yet you provoke me." His eyes bore into her blue ones. "But if you think that _I_ am the one to be afraid of, then you do not know Pein," he whispered, his voice a low hiss. "Nod if you understand."

Blue eyes widened a smidge. Understand… was he warning her? Itachi must have seen the confusion in her expression. "I am a subordinate of this organization, _like you_." He spoke more plainly, still in a whisper. "It would not be wise to give him the impression that you question his authority by questioning why _I_ do not lead." There was a frightening intensity in his tenor voice. "Nod if you understand."

She opened her mouth to say that Pein's leadership wasn't under question, it was _your_ motives only, but closed it after considering that one thought might reasonably follow from the other, so the semantic difference didn't matter. She nodded.

He removed his arm and Raasu braced herself against the wall, lips a firm line, bright eyes trained on his movements. His expression was blank as ever but he still stared at her with elevated intensity. Even in near darkness his eyes were bright enough for her to study the details of his black tomoe.

As the moment stretched out, Raasu felt that the Uchiha was regarding her as if measuring something, and she stayed still as a mouse under his gaze. He wore no weapons, not that it made him any less dangerous.

In the almost darkness his eyes glowed crimson, a bright and tainted neon of pure color. Raasu stared into them, sinking into the depths of his irises. She felt her fear rising as clearly as a trickle of icy water down her spine and promptly squashed it with a burst of frustration and a clench of her jaw. What right did he have to frighten her with his existence? What gave him the right to wave her _father's_ name in her face? By what right did she deserve to be afraid? The taste of her fear made her _want_ him to measure her. To show him that she may be afraid, but her fear was unconscious and unwanted and did not hold her sway. How many times now had she stared the sharingan in the eye? 100? 200? And he'd used them on her _twice_ and she still looked.

All too soon or not soon enough (she would swear she wasn't sure which), the corner of his mouth twitched and he turned to leave. Raasu stayed motionless, daring not even to breathe. Seemingly as an afterthought, he turned around halfway to the door. Raasu watched his lips move in profile. "My father would have appreciated you," he said quietly before disappearing.

She stayed upright for a while, though trembling like a kitten against the wall.

Thoughts whirling, she sank down along the wall to rest on the floor. _My father would have appreciated you_. The sentence was so unfathomable she thought maybe she'd misheard him.

Belatedly she realized the room he'd shoved her into was _hers_.

She shivered. The Uchiha gave her a bitter taste of the Akatsuki underbelly and much to think about in the fewest words possible. There were things hidden about Pein that the Uchiha alluded to – things she wanted absolutely no knowledge of. They were a functioning unit to her and to her village and despite knowing their biographies on an individual level, they must _stay_ as a unit.

These things about the organization hidden to the public eye were things she wanted no part in. _Do your job and get out_ , a part of her whispered. Don't stick your neck out, don't get involved in whatever may or may not be happening internally. What if, when this was all over and done, Takigakure ordered her to Rain as a permanent liaison? She shivered at the thought. No, they wouldn't do that to her.

Against her wishes she thought back to the Uchiha's last line. _My father would have appreciated you_. What did that _mean,_ and what had _compelled_ him to vocalize it? His father… his _father_.

Uchiha Fugaku, patriarch of the Uchiha clan. Raasu all but buried her face in her hands. Uchiha Fugaku would have appreciated her… was that so? She couldn't say why, but somewhere inside she was satisfied by the notion. Yet the Uchiha – _Itachi_ …had _murdered_ his father, so there was _that_ , she thought wryly.

Meddling in Akatsuki affairs brought only trouble, she decided. Her village would attack Konoha soon, and she would be rid of them then. It could not come fast enough.

* * *

When Raasu woke, it was just as dark as when she'd fallen asleep, since there was no natural light beneath the mountain range. Her internal clock was probably correct, so it should be early to mid-morning. She supposed it didn't matter. Her mission was progressing; all she had to do now was make herself available when Pein called for her.

She rose quietly, flexing the sleep out of her joints. Her arms curled around her body protectively. She thought more about the sparse emptiness of the Akatsuki base. It was so… unimposing. Unremarkable. Small, even. The feeling of stale air returned to her, with the desire to have a drink of clean water.

Water would calm her, bring her back to herself. It was a human's lifeblood as well as the lifeblood of her village, country, and the earth itself. Takigakure practically worshipped the waterfalls, and all ninja from there were bound to be proficient in techniques stemming from the acquiring, molding, and manipulating of water. Raasu was no different – most of her jutsu were water-based.

However, an entirely uninviting figure had his back to her when she stepped into the meager kitchen area in search of a glass and faucet. She took a step back, not wanting to face this particular person in a closed space, individually at that.

He suddenly slammed the refrigerator door, jarring all of its contents and making her jump. "Do you have a _problem_ with me, Jinyama?" He rounded on her, approaching with closed fists.

"Of course not, Kakuzu-san," she whispered, brow creased. She braced for a fight; the Kakuzu of her folk tales was mean, manipulative, and tempered dangerously, and absolutely _nothing_ had provoked him to snap at her just now. His profile fit so much better to the demon tyrade than the Uchiha's polite external demeanor. She remembered how calm and silent Kakuzu was in the chamber; _this_ was something else. So Pein kept his dogs on short leashes when he was around, Raasu kept the thought to herself.

"No conflict of interest working with _my_ goals that would _offend_ your sensibilities?" the man continued. She shook her head. Takigakure knew Kakuzu was alive and operating in Akatsuki. Her mission had nothing to do with the traitor. "Good. Stay away from me."

Raasu snorted. As if she wanted anything but to be far, far away from him.

"Something funny?" His voice was deep and confident. He baited her, but where the Hoshigaki's baiting was lighthearted, his was malicious.

"I have nothing to say to you, Kakuzu-san," her hands flinched into fists, which made him laugh at her involuntary fear.

"That's a shame," he bellowed. "I have _much_ to say to _you_. I guess I'll talk, and _you'll_ just have to listen. Sit down," he commanded. She obeyed, thinking very much about her recent resolve to stay out of Akatsuki affairs.

"I hear you're versed in _history_ , which no doubt includes _my_ history." He put his hands up to his face and held them clasped together, looking at her over the top of them. His green eyes were abnormal, she noticed. "You're interested in the _truth_? I'll _give_ you the truth, then."

* * *

He was lying – he _had_ to be. His version of his story was fantastical; _crazy_ , even. According to the missing-nin, Takgakure had sent him in secret to assassinate the Hokage when he was near her age. He failed, and upon his return, Takigakure changed their story and branded him a traitor to avoid conflict with Konoha; allegedly to _cover up_ the fact that they had attempted a takeover.

"Why are you telling me all of this?" Raasu listened with wide eyes and a burning sense of dread. He _must_ be lying.

"I've lived a lifetime since then, but your mission and Takigakure's plans are not such a far cry from my past life. You're still young. I may be a missing-nin, but I'll take the chance to save one of my own from corruption."

Corruption? She thinned her lips. "You're not one of my own, Kakuzu-san," she struck out boldly. "And I take it _you_ will _not_ be sent to Takigakure with me?"

He smirked. "Wouldn't that be fun? Don't count on it, princess. It's Itachi and Kisame. You're _stuck_ with them." He knew what of Pein's plans? Was that because he held _power_ in the organization, or had Pein already announced his intentions? _Stuck_.

"Come with me," the large man grunted through his face veil. "We have business."

She couldn't argue with that, thinking Pein was ready to speak with her. Only, when she followed him into the same domed chamber from her audience, Pein wasn't there. No one was there, except Oshiro Tenzen, Kakuzu's partner. He lounged against the table, a smirk settled on his face.

Kakuzu walked to the center of the chamber before turning and settling into a boar stance.

"What do they teach young meat nowadays, hm?" Kakuzu cracked his knuckles.

Raasu frowned. "Oh no, I don't think so." She crossed her arms to emphasize her dislike of the situation.

"Keh," he huffed. "Such arrogance from a member of my home village." Kakuzu spoke of Taki as a fond, long-distant memory. It was a stark contrast to Kisame's bare contempt for Kiri.

"I will not fight you, Kakuzu-san," she said.

"Well then," Oshiro Tenzen shrugged, stepping forward. "You leave us little choice."

She felt his killing intent reach down to her from the cavernous roof and _dodged_. A bolt of lightning struck the place she just stood, scorching the packed earth. They wouldn't harm her outright. She believed that when dealing with the Hoshigaki and the Uchiha, or her mission would have gone nowhere. With these two it was a different situation entirely. She _felt_ his killing intent. The pair of them cornered her to force her to show them what she knew.

"You make me sick, Taki," he taunted as she dodged another bolt.

No good, she thought – her choice was to fight or flee. And she would _not_ flee from Takigakure's most wanted. But water _conducts_ electricity, so her element would be weak against Tenzen's. Maybe she could use that to her advantage…

Next time a deadly bolt fired down, her hand was already arching up, trailing a gasping stream of water. The cavern flashed yellow, then blue as the lightning flashed through her water. She danced under his lightning twice more before splitting into shadow clones. There was nowhere in the vast space for her to hide, so she hid among her clones. Then, she launched forward, kunai in hand.

Thinking her first move would be to send a clone to attack him directly, Tenzen went for the one hanging back, assuming it was the real Raasu. That was part of her plan, though. His lightning struck down and her rear clone burst, its water clinging to his skin and drawing the bolt straight to him.

At the same time, Raasu felt rather than saw the Uchiha come into the cavern as a shadow, and she turned in time to see him and the Hoshigaki materialize, wondering what the devil was causing the commotion.

Tenzen used her momentary lack of attention on him to his advantage, throwing a bolt that Raasu barely had time to deflect. Then it was the same dance and deflection around the room. Disappointingly, the nin must be impervious to his own electricity even in a direct strike.

One false step and she stumbled, throwing out a hand to catch herself and drawing a triumphant sneer from Tenzen. Electricity shot into her hand, making it spasm. She gasped and caught her wrist with her opposite hand, gripping the pained limb that twitched and fell numb as the lightning master's chakra dispersed. Another bolt raced for her midsection and she dodged, throwing herself to one side and hitting the ground hard on her shoulder.

She cursed as she threw chakra into her down side, propelling herself back upright with a huff and a shallow indentation in the stone ground. The fight was getting out of hand; she could theoretically dodge longer than he could throw bolts, but her accuracy would continue to decrease and mistakes were more likely. She was also at a disadvantage with her Water against his Lightning.

With that in mind, Raasu split back into clones and rushed in vertical formation. This time when his bolts rained down, her clones did the work for her, deflecting their deadly strikes and bursting on impact so she could continue her forward assault. The former Kumo nin was a long-range fighter, so her new strategy was to keep him within arm's length. Her numbed arm flexed and renewed energy coursed through her. It still tingled, but was usable.

Three steps from him she lunged, swinging out an elbow, and he dodged to her right. His lightning-imbued palm struck out, trying to hit her bruised forward shoulder, but she countered with a strike of her own, across her chest and grounded. Electricity burned into her skin as she made contact, but not too badly and she gripped his wrist and leveraged him forwards into her waiting backhand.

"Che," he huffed, stabilizing himself and charging up for his next move. "Is that all you can do with water? Pathetic next to my lightning," he taunted.

Raasu was on him again, narrowing her eyes. Water burst from her remaining clones, swirling above their heads. His leg kicked upwards and she rolled into it, swerving away and making a kick of her own, which he blocked with another charged fist. He was skilled with his elemental jutsu, but lightning was notorious for leaking chakra in all directions once converted. Raasu did a little converting of her own, adding to the array of moisture around her body and his. Opponents didn't like being wet, typically. It made them cold and slow. Hopefully it would further confuse the electricity, adding to the diffusion and draining his chakra rapidly. He must have sensed this because he ceased the flow of electricity through his skin. Instead he made to jab at her face and strike out with his knee in the same motion.

She flipped back out of range and closed her eyes to focus her next jutsu. _Rain_ , she commanded. The water above hovered a moment longer before pelting down across the room. Droplets elongated with the speed of their descent. She was no ice master, but through sheer speed water could be just as deadly, pelting her opponent with thousands of fractional steely blue needles. It was, as Kakuzu might know, a standard in Takigakure for shinobi of jounin and higher. Tenzen could block some with lightning armor, but it would still hurt him.

"Tenzen," the word rang deep in the cavern, like a command. No one else attacked her, so she let her water sink back into the earth and opened her eyes, lowering her hands to her sides. It was Kakuzu who spoke and who was now leaning against one wall, arms folded and looking at her down his nose. He nodded to her. Surprised, she nodded back.

Kakuzu's partner would be fine; his body was covered in purple pinpoints where her rain had met skin. The negative charge had stabilized to neutral, so the air was no longer tinged with static. Tenzen grimaced, then grinned. "I'd stay to make you as purple as me, but my partner says otherwise."

"Taki," the Hoshigaki called out. He jerked his head, indicating he wanted her to come with him. The Uchiha was already walking back out. She followed, pinching the bridge of her nose. _Stuck_ , indeed. What a mess.

* * *

A/N: Have I mentioned that I love reviews? Additionally, you can find me on tumblr under the same name.


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